Carriage-top



(No Model.)

S. RKIBROLF. CARRIAGE TOP.

No. 482,254. Patented sept. 6, 1892.

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UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

SALEM E. KIEROLF, OF JACKSON, TENNESSEE.

CARRIAG E-TO P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,254, dated September 6, 1892. Application tiled April 14, 1892. Serial No. 429,147. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SALEM E. KIEROLE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jackson, in the county of Madison and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Carriage-Tops; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in carriage-tops; and its obj ect is to provide an improved form of bow-socket which is stronger and lighter in construction than the ordinary socket and is so arranged as to obviate any inconvenience to the occupant while getting in and out of the carriage.

The invention is primarily designed as an improvement on the device shown in my patent, No. 388,689, issued August 28, 1888; and it consists of a compound curved-bow support adj ustably supported on one of the bow-sockets and having the end of the front bow fitted in the upper end ofsaid front-bow socket.

Myinvention further consists of certain details of construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view of a carriage-top embodying three bow-supports used in connection-with my improved front-bow support. Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views showing two and one straight bow-supports, respectively. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the compound curved front-bow socket, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the adjustable fastening devices.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures, A, B, and C designate, respectively, the front, middle, and back bows of an ordinary carriage-top. I provide tubular supports b c for the middle and back bows, which are fitted in the sockets h c in the upper ends of said supports. In the ordinary carriage-top, as -far as I am aware, the frontbow support is generally straight or curved inwardly; but this does not obviate the inconveniences of getting in and out of the carriage. I therefore employ a compound curved front-bow support D, which has in its upper end a socket d to receive the front bow. This 5 5 front-bow support D may be made much shorter than is necessary1 in the common form, and at the same time it presents a neat and simpler appearance, really looking much lighter than it actually is. By its peculiar 6o construction and curves this front-bow socket maybe adjusted to any desired height on one of the middle-bow supports consistent with the convenience in getting in and out of the carriage. As shown in the drawings, the inward curve of this bow-support D is arranged, preferably, at the lower part of said bow-support in order that it may be out of the way as much as possible. This compound curved front-bow support is adj ustably secured on the adjacent bow-support B by means of a clamp E, which is fastened on the support by a pin or screw e, passing through both members of said clamp, and the lower end of the front-bow support D is held between the forwardly -projecting ends of the clamp by a pivot-pin d2, which passes through the members of the clamp and the bow-support D. This is the style of clamp preferred in carriage-tops employing two or more bow-supports, which are used in connection with my improved front-bow support; but, as shown in Fig. 3, when two of my compound curved bow-supports are used-one for the front and one for the back bow-I employ the clamp F. (Shown in Fig. 6.) This clamp comprises two members f f, which are clamped tightly around the middle-bow support by screws or boltsf, and the curved bows D are pivoted on pins e, passing through the ends of the members of the clamp. The advantages of the curvedbow support will be readily apparent upon an examination of the accompanying drawings, which show it adapted to carriage-tops with one, two, and three bows, obviously making a much neater and simpler, but none the less substantial, construction.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construction of the devices herein shown and described as an embodiment of my invention can be made without departing from Ithe spirit or IOO sacrificing the advantages thereof, andI therefore reserve the right to make such changes-` as fairly fall within the scope of the saine.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a carriage-top, the front bow, I the ccm` pound curved supports for said bow having the sockets in their upper ends to receive thebow, and adjustable clamps on the adjacent bow-supports to receive the inner ends of the front bow supports, substantially as described.

2. In a carriage-top, the combination, with SALEM E. KIEROLF. Witnesses:

J. D. MARKS, JN0. MAGERNEY, 

